four things | ten

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

Our weather was quite warm at the beginning of the week then took a turn for cooler, breezy weather Thursday afternoon. But the sun is shining and it looks warmer than it is. Such is Spring weather.

I host our Book Club Monday afternoon and decided to freshen up the front door with a new wreath.

Actually I made that one a few years ago until some birds started making a nest in it. I love the wild birds in our area but I don’t want them nesting, pecking, chirping, or pooping on my front door. Looks like I might need to polish the door knob again.

what I’m watching

Since Gene Hackman was recently in the news (RIP, Gene), Mr. Aitch found several movies Mr. Hackman was in. We just watched Enemy of the State starring Gene Hackman, Will Smith, and John Voight. We both remembered bit and pieces of it when it first came out but really enjoyed seeing it again.

what I’m working on

A fellow knitter asked me for a sweater pattern I knit in 2014 for my then one-year-old grandson. Isn’t he a cutie pie? He just turned twelve in January!

Fortunately I still had my notes though they needed ~~some~~ lots of clarification. I was able to reconstruct them in a couple of days and sent them to her. I also updated that blog post with a link to the pattern.

what I’m growing

I started a window sill garden.

Ignore the Jade plant in a glass on the right. It isn’t edible.

I saved two Romaine lettuce ends, stuck them in water and they sprouted. I tried this a few years ago and got enough greens for a decent sized salad. I tried to regrow them one more time but they were finished. My understanding is that one can usually get one “crop” by doing this so why not? I also have a celery stalk and a few onions. The celery is showing signs of life. The onions not so much though I do see some roots forming. Maybe I should put them in soil…

what I’m loving

The Bob Newhart Show from 1972-78 was a great TV show. Mr. Aitch and I didn’t watch it the first few years as we were in college and either didn’t have a TV or the time to watch it. We probably caught the last few seasons way back when and love streaming the show in the evenings. The cast was perfect. The storylines were perfect. The characters were perfect.

We’re only into Season 2 and look forward to finishing the series. It’s fun to see so many different actors appear as “patients” who went on to star in other shows.

Have an awesome weekend and week.

Broken seed stitch recipe

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Patti_is_knittinginflashes

This sock recipe landed in my inbox last week. It’s not a complete sock pattern in that the designer (Hanna Leväniemi) assumes you know how to knit one already. Since I do, I wanted to give it a try. Here’s a link to the Broken Seed Stitch recipe.

This ungodly, bright yarn was a dyeing experiment from September 2020 when one of our granddaughters dyed yarn with me. It’s been sitting in my fingering-weight yarn stash for a few years thinking I would overdye it sometime but obviously didn’t.

I really, really, really needed a sock project on my needles so with Mr. Aitch’s help*, I wound it into a ball. I wanted to coordinate it with something that would tame the glaring colors and found some Knit Picks Stroll in Aurora Heather, a deep green with bluish undertones. I’ve used this color twice before and it’s just beautiful.

My typical sock is 64 stitches on US #1.5 (2.5mm) and I knit top-down (from the cuff) to the toe. After 15 rows of k1, p1 ribbing I joined the “contrast” color and followed the 4-row broken seed stitch pattern.

I. Am. Loving. This. Sock.

The Aurora Heather really toned down the bright greens, blues, and yellows so they almost glow.

My only issue is where the colors and pattern change at the end of each row. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong or if that’s just the nature of the stitch. When I knit the second sock, I will knit a half row before I change yarns so the join will be on the opposite side of that sock.

The inside looks cool, too!

So what’s on your needles, or hook, or embroidery hoop?

*I’m seriously thinking about getting a yarn swift so I don’t have to beg Mr. Aitch to hold the yarn on outstretched arms while I slowly wind the it into a ball. Do you have one or can give me any suggestions for one?